Fantasy Football and Your Money

Many people today are playing Fantasy Football, chances are you are one of the 74.7 million people participating and making the decision to draft Adrian Peterson or Todd Gurley for your team. American Express Spending and Saving tracker reported that 4.6 Billion dollars would be spent on this rather new national past time in 2015, assuming my math is right this comes out to $61.58 per person. This is certainly not a grand amount that will break the bank, but make sure to add that to your entertainment or hobby budget.

I personally spend $50 on my fantasy football league, not including the side bets with friends along the way, hey I stopped going to casinos for entertainment it’s essentially what gets my fix. It’s a chance to be more involved in the upcoming NFL season when the snow is on the ground and making chili is part of my weekend activities and of course talk a little more with friends that are all around the country. In fact my league has friends from Arizona, Wisconsin, California, South Carolina, and Minnesota which gives me a reason to talk a little more and catch up despite the distance.

Now I know most of us are playing fantasy football for fun, but according to a Forbes article the Fantasy Sports Trade Association (FSTA) estimates that the average fantasy gamer spends 3 hours per week managing a team(s), translating to 1.2 billion hours for 23 million players over a 17 week season. I’m sure I spend 3 hours per week or 12 hours per month managing my fantasy team as I read articles, rankings, injury reports, draft, search the waiver wire, etc. which is a little scary to me actually even if I enjoy the crap out of it. The reason I bring up the time spent is I believe Fantasy Football shows a lot about how you handle your money. So I decided to come up with the different type of Fantasy Football players and how this all relates to how they handle their money.

I came up with 4 different types of Fantasy Football players and how they also handle their money. Hope you enjoy the article and of course the start of the Fantasy Football season!

Which Fantasy Football Player Are You?

All-In

This person is very well prepared for their fantasy draft. They read all of the fantasy football articles, injury reports, have an excel sheet in preparation for the draft and throughout the year are watching every game on the NFL Red Zone channel just waiting to pounce on the waiver wire for the Quarterback who was holding his clipboard minutes before the starter was carried off the field. As a good friend of mine said his wife comes prepared, she buys the magazines, reads the articles, and shows up with a computer full of excel sheets and pie graphs*. In fact I would say they are All-In on fantasy football.

Your Money- This person is very involved with their money. They prefer to know exactly where each and every dollar is going, they not only have a budget but they track it with an excel spreadsheet and Personal Capital. They can be seen checking Yahoo Finance daily to see how the stock market is doing, much like watching an entire Sunday of NFL football. They are on top of their money and tracking net worth showing concern with their portfolio, very similar to wondering how the Patriots are going to do with Jimmy Garoppolo in Tom Brady’s absence much like Apple stock holders wondered what would happen without Steve Jobs (RIP).

Gambler

The Gambler handles fantasy football sometimes with what feels right and sometimes with a tip he read from Matthew Berry on his 32 bold predictions like they are facts rather than opinion. They decided to draft Tony Romo because after the injury he’s going to be unstoppable, which may be but they didn’t draft any other Quarterback’s and find themselves worried after the draft is over, telling the other players “where there is risk there is reward” searching the waiver wires frantically. They can’t stand their roster 2 weeks later and begin to trade everyone with a pulse because these guys just aren’t scoring enough. The Gambler is still doing research like “All-In” but is more impulsive with decisions and trying to get the next big thing today.

Your Money-Not surprisingly the Gambler has no budget and keeps track of money with the ATM balance. They are more likely to have multiple credit cards because they are not afraid of debt, plus they get all those miles and only have to pay the minimum payment every month, SCORE. The Gambler prefers penny stocks to blue chips much like they prefer Carson Wentz to Drew Brees in hopes that the rookie cashes in big this year mostly ignoring track record.You are more likely to see the Gambler buying a scratch off ticket at the gas station than paying for fuel and for that they are known as the Gambler.

Auto-Draft

There always seems to be that person who pays almost zero attention and has no idea what is going on. If they actually make it to your draft they can’t figure out how to “draft” a player, as clicking the large button marked “Draft” seems to confuse them. After 30 seconds of trying to figure it out they leave the computer to cook something on the stove and auto-draft whoever is next list on the rankings. While this seems fine at first, instead during the season they are baffled why they have 3 kickers on their roster and still can’t figure out how to update their roster during the year, ultimately losing every game.

Your Money-Auto-Draft does not pay attention to their money…..at all. You can find past due envelopes on the table unopened or at least they think that’s what is going on as they have not actually looked at them or taken any phone calls as they lost their phone a couple weeks ago. Similar to the Gambler they get all of their bank information from the ATM or teller, except they don’t use cash or go to the bank. Auto-Draft does not have a portfolio of stocks in fact much like the San Francisco 49ers they are hoping it’s all going to work out for the best with this new coach they have a la the newest latest money they plan to put on their phone…….once they find it.

Homer

You always want to have the Homer player in your league. They love the Green Bay Packers or local home team and refuse to draft anyone without a green and gold jersey. As Adrian Peterson falls into their laps in the late rounds they take Packers backup Tight End, Richard Rogers because you know, he wears the Green and Gold! Then proceeds to tell you that Adrian Peterson plays for the Vikings and I would never draft anyone on that team, I hate those guys. Not surprisingly the loyalty to the green and gold doesn’t help them win many games but they don’t care about any of that anyways.

Your Money-The first thing about the Homer is well they are loyal. Unfortunately, they are using the same car insurance, cable, and land line telephone for the last 10 years. They are not checking to see if they can try another company to save money since they have been with Richard from the Green and Gold Insurance company for years. The same thing is true of their financial advisor also named Richard, if they would just look at those fees and commissions they are charging they would run the other way, but they trust their guy to lead them to the promise land of retirement for the win. Despite the fact that Richard is a great guy, there is a new company in town with low fees and has a proven track record for years, but I don’t think Adrian, the new financial advisor in town, will ever get a look.

What Fantasy Football Player Are You?

I’m sure you can name a friend who falls into one of these categories in your world of Fantasy Football and I wonder how well the “Your Money” section matches up? I know for me I am “All-In”. At the draft and during the season I am studying pie charts, reading articles, and checking the waiver wire for the upper hand and not surprisingly I am very involved with my budget, savings rate, and plan for my money.

Fantasy football can be entertainment at its finest for those who enjoy football, numbers, and an excuse to talk with friends. I hope that you enjoy the fantasy football season just as much as I will, but remember if you are spending 3 hours a week on fantasy football let’s all do our best to do the same with our money regardless of what Fantasy Football player you are.

*She also has won her league the past 2 years, doubt that is a coincidence.

Love this time of year! I spend a decent amount on fantasy and pick em leagues. I love the analytical aspect, plus it gives me reason to get together with friends as we get older. I usually make some of my money back along the way which is nice as well.Fervent Finance recently posted…Everyday I’m (Not) Hustlin’

I didn’t even want to touch pick’em leagues but I have managed to keep that at bay this year surprisingly. Always nice to get a few dollars back for your time, especially when it’s a good amount of it. Good luck in FF!

I’d say I used to be more of the All In type player, and won my league twice in the first 4 years. Then I went to more of a Gambler player. I still research players enough, have a decent draft strategy, but minus 3-4 key players, I have averaged about 40-45 adds/drops per season in both leagues. 🙂 I still manage to get top in 3 in one of the 2 each year so somethings working right.

Like you, I like the gambling here since I don’t get to casinos much anymore. Taking someone on a flyer because someone else is injured or someone just got the hot hand. I got Jimmy Graham the first year he came on the scene because I saw his chemistry with Brees develop the last few games of the previous season and just had a hunch. My brother in law was like, Graham, who the hell is Graham?! Haha I love FF. Fun times!

I love fantasy football, just not the time suck it causes. I still play but only in a free leagues, so I don’t have to invest the time the All-In player needs. I do spent enough time watching my favorite team (Giants) and I would never draft Tony Romo. It is a great time of year, so looking forward to Sunday!Brian @ Debt Discipline recently posted…Interview Series: The Million Dollar Mama

I use to play Fantasy Football when I was a lot younger but this is the first year that I’ve played in like ten years. I remember why I stopped because it was so addictive and I needed to spend my time studying and doing some other things.

Some of the links and ads displayed on Even Steven Money are affiliate links and I may get compensated if you click on the link and sign up or make a purchase through the link/advertisement found on my site. If you do, thank you for your support and help in keeping the lights on!

All information provided on this site is for informational purposes only. EvenStevenMoney.com makes no representations as to the accuracy, completeness, suitability or validity of any information on this site and will not be liable for any errors or omissions in this information or any damages arising from its display or use. As with all financial matters, proceed with caution and make sure to do your own research and seek professional advice.